11-10-2013, 08:58 PM
Hi Everyone,
I am starting my first dart frog tank. I've had very basic planted tanks with green tree frogs and red eyes in the past but I'm going a little bigger this time and moving into darts. I've been pretty successful in the past with reef tanks but we'll be renting for a while so a vivarium is a much better option. I've always been into herps and wanted darts but haven't really have the ideal time until now. I'm definitely looking forward to a little piece of the jungle in my living room. First I'll just start with a little "In memoriam" pic of what I had to sell earlier this year before we moved from Cleveland to Tampa. It was a 45g mixed reef that I took a great deal of pride in. It was tough to break down and sell. Lots of frags grown into good size colonies.
Moving to the present and future...
Here are some supplies I've gather thus far from NEHERP. I'll be doing a 29g vertical with a GSF background using Titebond III to cover it with coco fiber and sphagnum.
After doing lots of reading and digging through threads I also decided to carve a tree stump out of great stuff on a eggcrate frame. It didn't take long to find out just how much the GSF expands and leaves you room to carve and work with.
Yesterday I was able to put the finishing touches on the carving and I'm pretty happy with the result.
I then put a small coat of acrylic paint on as a base before some titebond and coco.
The stand is custom built and I'm still in the process of skinning it. It's going to be in the living room so I want it to look very finished and furniture quality.
This morning I put a 2nd coat of acrylic on the stump (that yellow showing through just won't do) and just finished the first layer of coco on the stump. I should hopefully get through some foaming in of the right side of the tank tonight too. My goal is to have the background foamed and coated by Tuesday. Next weekend we have a trip planned to Siesta Key with a stop at Tropiflora in order so I'm going to be bringing home a good selection of plants to fill it in.
I'm leaning towards a small group of R. imitator or variabilis but I'm still reading and researching so I don't have my heart set yet. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of good breeders here in FL so I'm sure I will have options. The background will have many perches, plants, and probably some vines so vertical space will be very accessible.
I know lighting a solid 2' depth can be a challenge so I'm still working on that as well. I'll most likely do a custom hood setup with CFLs for now with the possibility to upgrade to LED or just do a combo.
I am starting my first dart frog tank. I've had very basic planted tanks with green tree frogs and red eyes in the past but I'm going a little bigger this time and moving into darts. I've been pretty successful in the past with reef tanks but we'll be renting for a while so a vivarium is a much better option. I've always been into herps and wanted darts but haven't really have the ideal time until now. I'm definitely looking forward to a little piece of the jungle in my living room. First I'll just start with a little "In memoriam" pic of what I had to sell earlier this year before we moved from Cleveland to Tampa. It was a 45g mixed reef that I took a great deal of pride in. It was tough to break down and sell. Lots of frags grown into good size colonies.
Moving to the present and future...
Here are some supplies I've gather thus far from NEHERP. I'll be doing a 29g vertical with a GSF background using Titebond III to cover it with coco fiber and sphagnum.
After doing lots of reading and digging through threads I also decided to carve a tree stump out of great stuff on a eggcrate frame. It didn't take long to find out just how much the GSF expands and leaves you room to carve and work with.
Yesterday I was able to put the finishing touches on the carving and I'm pretty happy with the result.
I then put a small coat of acrylic paint on as a base before some titebond and coco.
The stand is custom built and I'm still in the process of skinning it. It's going to be in the living room so I want it to look very finished and furniture quality.
This morning I put a 2nd coat of acrylic on the stump (that yellow showing through just won't do) and just finished the first layer of coco on the stump. I should hopefully get through some foaming in of the right side of the tank tonight too. My goal is to have the background foamed and coated by Tuesday. Next weekend we have a trip planned to Siesta Key with a stop at Tropiflora in order so I'm going to be bringing home a good selection of plants to fill it in.
I'm leaning towards a small group of R. imitator or variabilis but I'm still reading and researching so I don't have my heart set yet. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of good breeders here in FL so I'm sure I will have options. The background will have many perches, plants, and probably some vines so vertical space will be very accessible.
I know lighting a solid 2' depth can be a challenge so I'm still working on that as well. I'll most likely do a custom hood setup with CFLs for now with the possibility to upgrade to LED or just do a combo.